Siddaramaiah rules out 2028 run as Karnataka enters new era

A veteran draws a line under the ballot

Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said Sunday that he will not contest the 2028 state election or any election after it, citing his age, health and the growing role of money in politics. The 79-year-old said he would remain politically active and continue speaking for the public, rather than withdraw from public life.newindianexpress +1

The declaration followed remarks at a private event in K.R. Pet, in Mandya district, on Saturday and a detailed Kannada post on X the next day.newindianexpress +1 Siddaramaiah said voters in his Varuna constituency had asked him to run again, but he had decided against it. He contrasted earlier campaigns, when residents contributed to his election effort, with a system in which candidates are now expected to pay voters.thestatesman +1

Age, health and a half-century in politics

Siddaramaiah said he would be 81 or 82 when the Congress government's term ends and could no longer work with his former energy. By 2028, he said, his political career would span 50 years, beginning with his election as a taluk board member in 1978.newindianexpress +1

His exit from electoral contests is consequential because he became one of Karnataka Congress's strongest mass leaders. His support among minorities, backward classes and Dalits—often described through the Kannada acronym AHINDA—helped Congress navigate the state's caste politics and return to power in 2023.indiatoday +1 The announcement is not a promise to leave party affairs: he remains a Congress Working Committee member and says his future will still be dedicated to public service.economictimes +1

The succession question shifts to Varuna

The move comes less than two months after Siddaramaiah stepped down as chief minister on May 28, ending his second stint in the job and clearing the way for former deputy D. K. Shivakumar.newindianexpress +1 That transfer settled the immediate leadership contest that followed Congress's 2023 victory, but the latest decision opens a different question: who inherits Siddaramaiah's constituency and social coalition before 2028.

The Economic Times reported that his son, legislative council member Yatindra Siddaramaiah, is expected to seek the Varuna seat after vacating it for his father in 2023.economictimes Any succession should not be treated as automatic. Siddaramaiah made a similar retirement announcement after first becoming chief minister in 2013, then returned to contest two seats in 2018 and won Varuna again in 2023.economictimes This time, his age and recent handover to Shivakumar make the decision more structurally significant for Congress, even as he preserves a role in shaping the transition.